Coaches in any field hold the space for their clients’ visions. And often, coaches can see possibility even when their clients can’t.
Coaches can see a path, and create a plan to reach a specific goal or set of results.
So as a driven entrepreneur, if you hire a coach, you expect him or her to give you advice. But here’s the thing, sometimes you might think that advice is TERRIBLE.
Sometimes you might not want to follow it. It might make you uncomfortable, or require you to step outside your comfort zone or typical pattern. It may feel “wrong,” or “not right,” or “weird.”
That uncomfortable, “I don’t want to” feeling is called resistance … and there is nothing harder than to follow coaching when you have a connection with resistance.
But sometimes your greatest explosion happens when you get out of your own way.
Resistance in the coaching space often looks like overwhelmed frustration. If you’re afraid of (or uncomfortable with) something, you let all the other conversations in your head take over.
Conversations about all that you have to do, other than that step your coach is recommending: laundry, cleaning, responding to emails, cleaning out your inbox …
So what do you do when your coach gives you advice, and you hit resistance?
First, look at the results your coach’s other clients are getting.Are they getting the results you want? Are they getting the results they want? If not, then maybe you shouldn’t take your coach’s advice. Maybe you should seek a new coach.
But if your coach’s other clients are getting results, then open you mind to the possibility that your coach is right: She knows her stuff, and can see a path for you that you can’t yet see for yourself.
Second, do a self-check:Do you get so focused on working IN your business that you neglect working ON it?
Do you put your head down, do your work, answer emails, and get to the end of the day and realize you haven’t connected with people other than your clients in terms of helping them or receiving help?
If you’re not connecting with people—whether you’re helping them or they’re helping you—then you’re slowing your growth.
If your coach has recommended you do a certain thing, and it feels like you just can’t, then consider whether giving more—and working ON your business—could help you make the leap.
When you’re working IN your business, then you get stuck in the rat race. But if you don’t look up, and connect with other people, then you’ll maintain your trajectory.
When you seek ways to help people, then you make the kinds of connections necessary to explode your results. Solutions come forward.
When you operate from the standpoint of giving, then an army of people shows up to support you! The people who give the most are always the ones who make the most (and we know this concept takes a little bit of getting used to. But if you master giving, you’ll take that quantum leap).
Third, as you take the coaching, focus on the step you’re in. In this way, you can become ultra-proficient about slowing the stress and worry. If you’re ultra-focused, there is no room for worry.
HeartCore Business™ Founder Shanda Sumpter has said, “Sometimes God has you make an investment that feels scarier than shit to make.”
She was referring to financial investments, but the truth is, sometimes following your coach’s advice takes an investment of time and energy and work—an investment of faith.
When you do the leadership work, you’re willing to make the investment, to stay the course, and stay in the game. Let us know in the comments section if YOU’VE ever struggled with listening to your coach. What did you do?
